Fears of a Father
by DARecruit
Summary: 19-year-old Shelby shows up at big brother Jack's house after a party. Meanwhile, Jack and Sarah are preparing for their first-born. Jack is worried he won't know how to be a father—or worse, be a bad one. Part of the Open Arms universe.


_Here is my second one-shot and glance into Shelby's childhood from the Open Arms universe! While it isn't necessary to have read that story to follow along with this one, I do recommend checking it out if you're new to my stories._

_Timeline Note:_ _The story takes place during winter break of Shelby's sophomore year of college. She's 19 (and in case anyone is wondering, that makes Jack 31 and Sarah 28). Jack and Sarah are preparing for the birth of their first child, JJ._

* * *

**Fears of a Father**

Jack lay on his bed with his gorgeous wife, staring intently at her belly. It was swollen and had large red stretch marks, but it was the most beautiful thing Jack had ever laid eyes on. He had watched that beautiful belly grow and change in the last seven months as their baby grew inside. And he realized, in eight short weeks, he would be the father of a little boy.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked, looking up from her book.

"Just thinking," said Jack, running a hand lightly over Sarah's belly. He felt the baby kick against his palm and smiled. "He's going to be here before we know it."

"I know," Sarah said in awe. "I can't wait to meet him. I feel like I know him already, but I'm so ready to see him—hold him."

"I hope I can do right by him. Our JJ," said Jack. He and Sarah decided long ago, when they found out they were having a boy, to name him John Joseph Corcoran III, and call him "JJ" for short.

"You are going to be an amazing father, Jack," Sarah said, placing her hand over her husband's. She gave it a gentle squeeze and smiled.

"I have no idea what I'm doing, Sar," Jack confessed. "What if I'm not an amazing father? What if I screw him up?"

"You won't. We'll learn," Sarah said calmly.

"I'm just…Well, I'm scared," said Jack.

Sarah was about to respond when the doorbell rang and cut her off. "Who could that be? It's almost one in the morning!" she said, sitting up.

"Duno. Stay here, I'll go check," said Jack, grabbing his wooden baseball bat he kept propped against the headboard on his side of the bed.

Jack made his way to the front of their ranch-style home and turned on a light on his way to the front door. Taking a deep breath, Jack got a firm hold on his bat, holding it ready in case he needed it, and opened the door.

"Whoa! Jack, it's me!" Shelby squealed, barely managing to stay on her feet as she ducked out of the way. She wasn't expecting to see her big brother answer the door with a heavy baseball bat, ready to swing at her.

"Shelby!" Jack exclaimed, lowering the bat. "You scared the shit out of me! Get in here!" he said, grabbing his nineteen-year-old sister by her coat and yanking her into the house.

"_I_ scared _you?_" Shelby exclaimed, shrugging off her coat and tossing it over the arm of the sofa. "You tried to club me with a bat!"

"Shelby, what on earth are you doing out so late?" Sarah asked, waddling over to her husband and sister-in-law. She had heard Jack yell Shelby's name, and came out to see what was going on. "Do your parents know where you are?" she added sternly.

Shelby blushed at Sarah's tone and shifted on her feet. She hated when the woman scolded her like a kid. She wasn't a little girl anymore. She was nineteen, and felt she should be treated like an equal with her siblings and their partners now. No one saw her as that though. She was still Shelby, the perpetual baby of the Corcoran family.

"Can I crash here tonight?" Shelby asked, ignoring Sarah's questions.

"Of course you can stay, Shelbs. Sarah's right though, Mom and Dad need to know where you are. Why aren't you going home?" said Jack.

"I went to a party. You know how it goes," said Shelby with a shrug.

Jack narrowed an eye and scrutinized his baby sister. "No. Why don't you tell me, kid," he said.

"Jack, come on—"

"Were you drinking, Shelby?" Jack asked sternly, stepping forward to get in his sister's face. He could smell the alcohol on her breath.

"What, I—I had a few," Shelby sputtered, backing up. She was well aware that her breath reeked of beer, and was hoping Jack wouldn't smell it.

"And you _drove_ here? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Jack boomed, making both Shelby and Sarah flinch.

"Jack, i-it wasn't that much, I swear, I—"

"_One_ was too much, Shelby!" Jack yelled, raking a hand through his hair. "You're way too young to be drinking! You have no idea how it affects you! What if you had crashed? What if you were pulled over?"

"It was six blocks!" Shelby bit back angrily.

"YOU'RE JUST A KID!"

"I AM _NOT_!" Shelby screamed, stomping her foot. "I'm nineteen!"

Jack looked incredulously at his kid sister, not missing the way she stomped her foot and pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked every bit the child he just accused her of being. She was glaring at Jack, but underneath her angry expression there was a betrayed look. Jack faltered for a moment. He had never yelled at his youngest sister like he was doing now. He had always been the cool, laid-back big brother. But right now, Jack was angry and upset. Shelby could have injured or even killed herself on the drive over. Jack wanted to cry and pull the teen to him and hug her tightly. But there was also a part of him that wanted to bend her over and spank the daylights out of her.

"Why don't we all sit down and talk calmly?" Sarah suggested, meeting Jack's eye. He sighed and took a step towards Shelby.

"Shelby, I know you know you were wrong. That's why you showed up here instead of going home to face Mom and Dad. Because you know if either of them found out, they would tan your backside for pulling a stunt like this!" Jack said, doing his best to keep his voice down. He wasn't very successful, but he wasn't outright yelling either.

Shelby flushed a brilliant shade of red and let out a loud, disgruntled sigh. "I'm too old for that!" she argued, sounding more certain than she felt. But her brother was right about one thing—she came to his and Sarah's house instead of going home because her parents would kill her if they found out she had been drinking, let alone drove afterwards.

"Do you even realize everything that could have happened to you, Shelby? You could have killed yourself, driving over here like you did!" Jack scolded. "Why didn't you call me? I would have come picked you up, you know that!" He was so upset with his sister right now. Thousands of fears and worries were flying through his head. Anything could have happened to her tonight—and not just behind the wheel. Jack knew how college parties went. He knew how some boys treated drunken girls. He knew that if that ever happened to his little sister, he would kill the boy that did it to her with his bare hands.

"You're acting like I'm drunk, Jack! I'm hardly even buzzed! I'm _fine_!" Shelby yelled.

"Buzzed driving _is_ drunk driving, Shelby!" Jack hollered back, exasperated.

"Okay, you both need to take a breath and calm down," Sarah interjected. _It's like talking to the wall_, she thought, frustrated.

"I'm done talking to you!" Shelby said angrily, grabbing for her jacket and purse. She didn't have to stand here and listen to her brother yell at her. She turned on her heel and stomped towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jack asked as Shelby opened his front door.

"I'm leaving! I don't have to listen to your shit! I shouldn't have even come here. I thought I could count on you, Jack, but I guess I was wrong!" Shelby said nastily, glaring at Jack over her shoulder so she could watch her words dig into him. She knew they had hurt, but right now she didn't care.

"Like hell you are!" Jack said, grabbing Shelby's arm before she made it a full step out the door. He yanked her back inside and turned her to face him. He was furious.

Shelby met Jack's eyes defiantly. She gulped when she was met with his cold glare. He wasn't messing around now, and Shelby felt a flutter in her stomach. "Jack, I'm sor—"

"Get your butt into the shower. I'll be in to blister it as soon as you're finished—you can count on _that_!" Jack said, sending Shelby towards the guest room with a hard swat to the bottom.

Shelby gasped and scurried off to the relative safety of the guest bedroom, a hand reaching behind to rub her stinging bottom.

Jack waited until Shelby turned down the hallway before letting out a deep sigh and slumping onto the sofa.

Sarah moved to sit next to her husband and lay a gentle hand on his knee.

"I don't know what just happened," Jack said, rubbing his face with his hands. "I can't believe I hit her."

"You didn't hit her. You swatted her," said Sarah. "Are you going to keep good on that threat?"

"What—Oh. I was just so _angry_. What was she thinking, driving here after drinking? And then she wanted to leave? Absolutely not," said Jack, meeting Sarah's eyes. "I guess I'm going to have to call Mom and Dad and let them know what's up. I never thought I'd have to rat out one of my siblings—I never ratted the others out," he added with a sigh.

"You don't have to rat her out, you know," Sarah said.

"You're kidding, right? I can't keep quiet and let her get away with this, Sarah. She's just a kid. I have to be the adult here," Jack said.

"I'm not telling you to let her get away with it—I agree she deserves a punishment. I'm just saying it doesn't have to come from your parents," said Sarah.

"Oh, come off it, Sar. I can't—I was bluffing," Jack scoffed, staring at his wife in disbelief. "I can't do that to her."

"What are your parents going to do if they find out?" asked Sarah.

"She can say goodbye to her driving privileges for the rest of winter break, for starters," said Jack. "And she'd be spanked. They don't seem care how old you are either—if you deserve a spanking, you're getting one. Dad took me down a few pegs when I was eighteen," he added with a slight shiver at the memory.

"What on earth did you do?" Sarah asked, interested in the story. She had thought she heard every one of Jack's stories, but this one was new.

"I got into a fight with Mom and I…Well, let's just say Dad made me regret it immediately," said Jack.

"I bet he did. Shame I didn't know you back then. I would have rubbed it for you," Sarah giggled, leaning in to kiss Jack. She wiggled her eyebrows as she sat back.

Jack cleared his throat and shifted on the cushion. "I'm going to go call my parents," he said, turning to get up. He stilled when Sarah placed her hand on his forearm.

"Think about what I said, Jack," she said. "Shelby came here, after all."

Jack nodded and stood. He leaned over to kiss Sarah's head and whispered, "I love you."

Shelby stood in the shower, letting the hot water wash away the stench of the party, the beer, and her attitude. The image of Jack's angry face and piercing eyes were burned into her retinas so that every time she closed her eyes, there he was, staring back at her. And each time, it sent a shiver down Shelby's spine. She had never seen Jack look at her that way. He was always doting on her and acting like a big goofball—it's the reason she showed up at his and Sarah's house tonight. She never once expected him to react the way he had.

Shelby certainly hadn't helped matters, yelling at her brother the way she did. She felt guilt bubble up as her words echoed loud and biting in her ears. Even if she was upset about him yelling and scolding her like a child, Shelby would make sure she apologized for saying she wasn't able to count on Jack. She had said it to be spiteful, and her brother didn't deserve that at all.

Her thoughts turned to Jack's words—his threat of coming to blister her butt after her shower—and Shelby felt her heart rate accelerate. Jack couldn't be serious. He just _couldn't_ be. He had swatted her though, just like Mom or Dad would have done in that situation. And she knew that either one of her parents would spank her the second they found out about her drinking and driving. They would have yelled at her just like Jack had, and promised a spanking after she showered…_just like Jack_. She sighed. When had Jack changed from the goofy, protective big brother into this…dad? Shelby didn't like it, and she didn't know what she was going to do about it. A small part of her wasn't even sure if she should argue with Jack if he stuck to his threat…his promise.

Sarah heard the running water in the en-suite as soon as she walked into the guest room. She had a pair of her softest sweatpants and a t-shirt for Shelby to change into for the night. She thought about laying them on the bed and leaving before Shelby was out of the shower, but decided to wait so she could talk to the teen.

Shelby turned off the water and took her time drying off. She entered the bedroom, surprised to see Sarah sitting on the bed. She had been half expecting Jack to be sitting there, ready to make good on his promise.

"Sarah, h-hi," Shelby said, nervously tugging at the towel around her body. For a brief second, she was scared Sarah was here to carry out "the deed", but her eyes were soft and warm and she was smiling.

"I brought you some clothes to wear tonight," Sarah said, holding them out for the younger girl.

"Thanks," Shelby said, taking the clothes.

Sarah waited while Shelby pulled on the borrowed t-shirt, searched spastically for her discarded underwear for a moment, and then pulled on the blue sweatpants. She smiled when Shelby finally met her eyes again, and in that moment, she saw the mischievous twelve-year-old girl she had first met when Jack introduced her to his family. Funnily enough, Shelby had yelled at Jack and found herself in trouble that day as well.

"Come sit down, Shelbs," Sarah said, patting the spot next to her. "Let's have a talk."

"Are you mad at me too?" Shelby asked with a long sigh as she sat down.

It was Sarah's turn to sigh. "I'm not mad, Shelby. I'm upset, and disappointed that you were drinking and driving. You could have gotten seriously hurt, or killed—or hurt or killed someone else," she said.

"It wasn't that much," Shelby pouted, frowning. Why couldn't her brother or sister-in-law understand that? It wasn't as big of a deal as they were making it out to be…was it? Shelby knew what her parents would say and do. She didn't like that Jack and Sarah were on that same page. It just wasn't fair.

"How many drinks did you have, really?" Sarah asked.

"Three beers, maybe. And one or two mixed drinks," Shelby mumbled, picking at the design on her borrowed sweats.

"_Shelby!_" Sarah scolded, making the girl blush. "Do you even know what was in those drinks? And four or five alcoholic drinks is a little more than 'not that much', young lady!" Sarah surprised even herself at her last statement, but it seemed to reach Shelby, who was squirming uncomfortably.

"Sarah," Shelby whined, hating that she sounded like a little kid.

"What if a cop had stopped you tonight, Shelby? Even one drink is over the legal limit for you. You would have gotten slammed with a DUI," Sarah said, slapping at Shelby's hands to get her to stop fussing with the design on her favorite sweatpants.

Shelby's pout deepened as she sat on her hands and gave her sister-in-law a sad look. "I just wanted to have fun with my friends. They were all drinking and joking and…I didn't feel like I had anything in common with them anymore. I just wanted to fit in," she said.

"Oh honey," Sarah said gently, "Did you ever think that you aren't fitting in because you are meant to _stand out_?"

Shelby scoffed and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. Before she could figure out what to say to Sarah's comment, there was a knock on the door and Jack popped his head inside.

"Hey kid, let's talk," he said, meeting Shelby's eyes. He noticed the uneasy look she gave him and his heart actually hurt.

Sarah reached out to squeeze Shelby's hand before getting to her feet. She met Jack halfway to the door and kissed him. "You've got this," she whispered, making her way to the door. She shut it with a soft _click_.

"I called home, talked to Dad," Jack said, taking the seat Sarah had just vacated. He patted his sister's knee and gave her a sad smile.

Shelby's heart sunk. She was dead. Dad was going to kill her. "Is he coming to get me?" she asked nervously.

"I didn't tell him. He just thinks you came here before curfew and fell asleep before you could call yourself," said Jack.

As fast as Shelby's heart fell, it bounced right back up. She felt light and almost giddy. "Thank you, Jack! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squealed, wrapping her arms around his middle and hugging him tightly.

"Whoa, kiddo. I didn't say you weren't still in trouble," Jack said gently. "We need to have a talk. And…I was serious about my promise earlier. I'm going to bust your butt like you deserve."

"Jack, you can't!" Shelby said, feeling her stomach flip. "I'm too old."

"Mom and Dad would do the same thing, Shelby. You know they would. I won't tell them, but that means I have to do it," Jack said.

"That's not fair!" Shelby whined. "You drank before you were twenty-one, I _know_ you did!"

"Shelby, I'm not punishing you because you drank underage—though that can be dangerous as well. You're going to be punished tonight because you got behind the wheel after drinking," said Jack.

"It wasn't—"

"Shelby, honey, even one beer is too much for you right now. You have no idea what your limit is or how you will handle your alcohol. Hell, I don't drive after drinking a beer. Alcohol stays in your system for about an hour, and I'm pretty sure it's longer for girls. You don't metabolize it as quickly. You could have gotten hurt, or killed. Shelby, I'd be lost without you, kid," Jack said gently. He wasn't angry anymore, but he was upset. He needed the teen to understand the magnitude of her actions and why it was so dangerous to drink and drive.

Shelby could feel her eyes starting to burn as they filled with tears. She sniffed and tried to keep them from falling. Up until this moment, she had only felt guilty about what she had said to Jack. Now she was feeling guilty for making the wrong choices. As much as she didn't want to admit it, both Sarah and Jack's words were getting to her. She realized why they were both so upset with her, and she felt awful. Still, she didn't want to be punished for it, especially not spanked by Jack for it. That would be _beyond_ embarrassing. She'd never be able to look Jack in the eye ever again! He had to see that. He just couldn't spank her. He couldn't!

"Jacky," Shelby said tearfully, "I promise I won't do it again. Please don't spank me. You can't!"

Jack's heart constricted at Shelby's plea and took a deep breath. He wanted to back down on this and let her go with a warning, but he knew he couldn't. "I don't want to spank you, kiddo, but—"

"You don't have to!" Shelby insisted, tears making their way down her cheeks.

"I have to be the adult here, kiddo. I have to do the right thing. I don't want to, but…I will because I love you," Jack said sadly.

"But I'm too old," Shelby whined, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.

Jack chuckled and shook his head. "I was spanked at twenty-four. You aren't too old," he said.

Shelby blushed under her tears and averted her eyes. She remembered that day her and her brothers had been spanked together, with Mom's slipper. That was an awful day. But that was different. She told Jack as much.

"Shelby, you could have died tonight. You could have killed someone else. You could have gotten arrested and ruined your driving record. Not to mention, you could have been raped while you were intoxicated. Anything could have happened, Shelby. I'm going to spank you for all of those reasons, young lady," Jack said, his voice firm.

"I'm sorry, Jacky," Shelby cried. "Please don't though. I promise I've learned my lesson. I won't ever do it again! I won't even _drink_ again!"

"If I don't, I'm going to call Dad back and I promise you, _he_ will. He'll take away the privilege of using their car as well. Do you really want Mom and Dad driving you around for the rest of your winter break?" Jack said. "If I do it, it's over and done with. They never have to know. It's your choice, kid. But once you make it, that's it. No going back."

"I haven't been s-spanked in forever!" Shelby cried, leaning into her brother. She needed the comfort. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her head. "You can do it," Shelby finally whispered.

Jack sighed and rubbed his sister's back. "Come on, let's get this over with," he said. He hugged Shelby once before guiding her over his lap.

Jack looked down at the sweatpants-clad bottom and took a deep breath. He had lots of experience on the receiving end, but he had absolutely no experience on the administering end—unless you counted the playful ones he sometimes gave Sarah during sex, which he didn't.

Shelby trembled with a mixture of fear and embarrassment. It had been almost three years since her last spanking. She had thought she was too old then, and she had only been sixteen that time. Shelby felt at nineteen, she was an adult, but Jack was showing her just how much of a kid she still really was. And she hated that.

Not wanting to draw it out any longer than he had to, Jack hooked his thumb in the elastic of Shelby's sweatpants and tugged them down. He found that he had to use both hands to get them down below her bottom, and marveled at how easy his parents always made it seem—granted, they had raised four children, so they had had lots of practice.

Jack frowned at his sister's underwear and debated whether to keep them up or not. Their parents had always spanked on the bare bottom, saying that they needed to be able to see what they were doing so they knew when to stop. His sister certainly _deserved_ a bare bottom spanking, but she wasn't a little kid. Jack didn't want to embarrass her more than she already was. For modesty's sake, he decided on a compromise and pulled the fabric up so that it was scrunched between Shelby's cheeks. Now he could see what he was doing without completely exposing the teen.

Shelby whined at the uncomfortable feeling of the wedgie, but was grateful for her brother's small act of kindness. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the first strike.

Jack raised his hand high and let it fall onto the very center of his baby sister's bottom. It was a pathetic swat that he knew hadn't hurt—Shelby didn't even react to it. His second attempt wasn't much better. Shelby made a tiny whimper but remained still. His third swat elicited a loud squeal and Shelby would have fallen off his lap had Jack not wrapped his arm around her waist at the last minute. _Ok, way too hard!_ Jack thought to himself as he readjusted his sister on his lap.

Shelby squirmed as Jack got her back in position and then rubbed at the sore spot he had just made. She had been shocked at the extreme change between the first two swats to the third. It was like Jack had gone from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye. She squeezed her eyes shut once more and prayed that the rest of the spanking wasn't going to be as hard as that last swat had been.

Jack took few breaths to calm himself before raising his hand once more. This time he went for a medium swat that made Shelby whimper and wiggle, but settle down after a second or so. Jack repeated it on the other cheek and got the same reaction. Figuring he had found his "sweet spot", he began laying the spanks down more confidently.

"Ow! Ouch! OW!" Shelby yelped, snaking a hand behind her to protect her bottom. None of the swats now landing on her bottom hurt like that one had, but they were starting to build on one another and sting.

Jack pinned his sister's hand behind her back effortlessly and held it gently while he continued to apply medium-force spanks to the girl's bottom. Her skin was beginning to turn pink, so Jack began to focus his attention to her sit-spots. He thought about lecturing some, but decided that he had said enough beforehand. Shelby knew why she was in this position and he figured they both needed to focus on the spanking.

"I-I'm sorry! Jacky! Ow, sorry!" Shelby cried, kicking her legs against the mattress in a futile effort to relieve the pain. Or maybe she thought it would help her get away from her brother's strong hand. It did neither, but it did make her feel a bit better about the whole thing. "Stop! Please stop!"

Jack blinked back tears but continued on as if he couldn't hear his sister's cries. He had always thought his parents were being cliché when they would say, _"This is hurting me more than it hurts you"_, but Jack now knew what they meant. He felt like his heart was being pierced with a knife each time Shelby cried out at a swat or begged him to stop. It was taking everything in him to keep going.

Shelby was sobbing big, fat, ugly tears as she kicked and squirmed and buried her face in the soft comforter—anything to try to distract herself from the burning pain. Jack had released her hand long ago and she hadn't tried to reach back again, almost hating being restrained and unable to move more than the spanking itself. Almost. At least with both hands free, she was able to white-knuckle the blankets, which helped in some strange way.

"I'll be goo—ow! I'll be good!" she cried out at the top of her lungs. "I p-p-promise I won't drink and—Ah!—drive a-again!" She'd promise anything at this point to get Jack to stop spanking her.

"I don't want to ever have to repeat this, Shelby Elizabeth. I will if I have to, because I love you, and I _won't_ lose you over something so stupid," said Jack, as he moved from Shelby's very-red bottom to her upper thighs. He peppered the area with softer spanks that he knew would still feel hard on the more-delicate skin. Shelby sobbed and hollered at the onslaught and finally, _finally_, went limp. Jack stopped immediately and began rubbing the teen's back to calm her.

Shelby had reached her limit. She was a bawling, snotty mess and she had lost all the fight left in her. Her bottom felt like it was going to catch fire at any second. She hadn't even realized that Jack had stopped spanking her until she felt him fix her underwear and try to pull the sweats back up. She shrieked and rolled off of his lap, kicking the sweats across the room as she stood. Her hands then went back to rub and she immediately regretted it. Her skin was just too sore.

Jack stood and engulfed Shelby in a huge hug, holding her tightly as she cried into his chest. He couldn't hold back his own tears any longer and was soon crying with her.

Eventually, the pair made it back to the bed, with Shelby lying on her stomach with her upper half on Jack's chest. Jack raked his fingers through her still-damp hair and hummed softly. The gentle vibrations had always calmed Shelby when she was a baby snuggled up against Jack's chest. He used to love holding his baby sister when she was little, so much so that their parents would have to almost pry the girl out of his hands when they wanted to hold her.

"I'm sorry, Jacky," Shelby said, her voice hoarse. She had stopped crying long ago, and she and Jack had been laying in silence for about five minutes now.

"I know, kiddo. It's forgiven and forgotten," said Jack, rubbing his sister's back.

"I'm sorry I said I couldn't count on you," Shelby added. "I didn't mean it."

"I know you didn't. It's okay," said Jack. He continued to rub Shelby's head and back until he heard the teen's breathing evening out. Taking care not to wake her, Jack shifted his sister off of him and onto the mattress. He eased himself off of the bed and then tucked Shelby in.

"Goodnight, baby sister," he whispered, brushing the hair back from the girl's face and planting a kiss to her forehead. He then carefully left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

"I didn't expect you to still be up," Jack said as he entered the master bedroom.

"Are you okay?" Sarah asked, setting the book she had been trying to read down on the nightstand besides her. "How's Shelby?"

"She's asleep," said Jack, pulling off his t-shirt and tossing it to the side. "And I imagine sore. I really let her have it…she cried so much…"

"I'm sure she'll feel better when she wakes up. And it isn't like she didn't deserve it," said Sarah.

Jack sighed as he crawled into bed besides his wife. He stretched out and stared up at ceiling for a long time before turning to look Sarah in the eyes. "I know, I just…I didn't realize how hard it was going to be. It really does hurt you more than it hurts them and I just can't imagine…What if I can't be firm enough with our child?"

"Oh honey," Sarah soothed, "You are going to be a fantastic father. You stepped up tonight with Shelby and surprised both of you, I think. And you didn't even blink an eye when you did it."

"I'm afraid of everything when it comes to being a dad," Jack confessed. He rubbed his knuckles over his eyes and yawned.

"It's okay to be scared, J. I'd be afraid if you _weren't_ scared. I'm scared too. But we'll figure it out together, like we always do. We're going to be just fine," said Sarah, running her fingers through her husband's tousled hair. "I think we both need to get some sleep now though."

Jack tilted his head to stare into Sarah's eyes and smiled. He felt his anxieties and fears washing away under her calming gaze. She was his rock when he felt his world slipping away beneath his feet. She grounded him. "I love you so much," he said.

**Fears of a Father * Fears of a Father * Fears of a Father**

Shelby woke in the morning to a killer headache, and an even worse ache in her backside. Events from the night before came flooding back to the forefront of her mind, and Shelby felt her face flush with embarrassment.

Deciding it was probably early enough that her brother and sister-in-law would still be sleeping, Shelby rolled out of bed. She pulled on her borrowed sweats—there was no way she was attempting to get into her own jeans—before changing into her bra, tank top, and dark red cable-knit sweater.

Shelby's plan was to tiptoe into the living room, put on her shoes, grab her things, and leave without Jack and Sarah ever knowing she had gone. She'd get home and crash in her own bed, and hopefully sleep off the hangover she had.

"Shelby?" Sarah called from the kitchen, having seen a flash of red out of the corner of her eye. "You're up early."

Shelby winced and scrunched her eyes up at Sarah's voice. She wasn't expecting anyone to be up. She stopped in the hallway and slowly turned towards her sister-in-law. "I didn't want to bother you guys, so I was just gonna…go," she said.

"Don't be silly. I was just making breakfast. And Jack and I want to talk to you," Sarah said, waving for Shelby to follow her back into the kitchen.

"What? No," Shelby whined. "I won't do it again!" She couldn't believe that they wouldn't let it go. She had been lectured by both of them, and she was still feeling the effects of the spanking. Shelby thought that was more than enough.

"Oh no, honey, not about that! We wanted to see if you would want to stay the weekend with us, like you did when you were younger," Sarah said gently, wanting to relieve the teen's fears.

"Oh," said Shelby, letting out a sigh of relief. She really didn't want to have to sit through yet another lecture.

"We were thinking that if you stayed with us, you wouldn't have to worry about hiding your current…condition," Sarah said gently.

Shelby groaned and felt her face heat up. She averted her eyes and picked at the design on the sweats. Still, she knew Sarah had a point. If she went home, she was going to have to try to hide her sore bottom. At least if she stays here, she wouldn't have to come up with an excuse as to why she was wincing and squirming in her seat.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Shelbs. It's all over and done with, honey. Jack and I won't make fun of you because you were span—"

"_Sarah!_" Shelby hissed, flushing even more. "You don't have to _say_ it."

Sarah smiled and moved to give the teen a quick hug. When she looked up, her husband was heading towards the coffee pot.

"Morning, girls," Jack said, leaning against the counter as he sipped his coffee.

Sarah released the teen and went to give Jack a peck on the cheek before returning to the stove.

Shelby shifted from foot to foot and refused to look at her brother. She wasn't sure what to say to him after the events from the night before. What were you supposed to say to a sibling who had just beat your almost-bare butt raw not even ten hours ago? Shelby felt all of ten years old and wanted nothing more than for the floor to open up and swallow her whole.

Jack regarded his sister closely, trying to figure out the best way to get her out of her funk. Jack didn't want her to feel like she couldn't open up to him or have fun with him anymore. He had done what he had to do last night, but he had been truthful when he told her it was done and behind them. Realizing that the best way to move forward _was_ to move forward, Jack went over and pulled his sister into a big hug.

"Oh," Shelby gasped when she was unexpectedly scooped into her brother's arms. She felt her stiffness fade away the longer her brother held her, and she let out a sigh of relief.

Jack smiled when Shelby relaxed and hugged him back, knowing the two were back to normal. When he pulled away, he was met with a sheepish grin.

"How ya feeling, kid?" he asked, ruffling Shelby's already messy hair.

"Fine," said Shelby, blushing at her brother's knowing look. "Sore," she confessed.

"Sorry kiddo, but…you deserved it," he said.

"Yeah…Well, I'm going to make sure I tell my new nephew how much of a hard-ass his dad is," Shelby retorted.

"And don't you forget it!" laughed Jack, swatting Shelby's backside playfully.

"I don't think I'll ever forget this sore ass you gave me," Shelby quipped, rubbing absentmindedly at her tender bottom.

"C'mon you, let's get out of Sarah's way so she can finish our breakfast," Jack said, throwing an arm around Shelby's shoulder and steering her from the room.

"Jacky?" Shelby said as she looked up into her brother's eyes. "You're a great big brother. And after last night, I have no doubt you'll be a great dad."


End file.
